POKHARA, Nov 3: Aiming at enhancing the security of climbers and trekkers, Nepal Annapurna ICT Rescue Center has been established at Annapurna Base Camp (ABC).

On Thursday, KT Corporation of South Korea, Um Hong Gil Human Foundation, and Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) signed an agreement in Pokhara to operate the rescue center at the base camp. The center has been established at the base camp, which is 3,900-meter high from the sea level.

According to Santabir Lama, president at NMA, the ICT Rescue Center will ease the process of rescuing  climbers and trekkers in the region. “The center has been established to help the climbers. The center will also help the trekkers, who are on the way to the ABC,” he said, adding that lost mountaineers were rescued with the help of choppers in the past.

“Now, with the use of technology in the rescue process, helicopters will be sent only after tracking the location of the lost mountaineers. The use of technology will help reduce the death of lost mountaineers in the mountain. The center will give mountaineers a device, which helps to track the location of the lost climbers,” Lama said, adding that the tracking devices are connected with drones that will be used for the rescue purpose.

“The drone can also identify if the climber is dead. The drone tracks the temperature of humans to know the state of the lost climbers. The drone, which can carry a load of up to seven kilograms, also supplies necessary medicines and food supplies during the rescue process,” Lama added.

According to Jong Jin Yoon, deputy chief executive officer of KT Corporation, the rescue center has been established as a part of the company's CSR activities. “A total of 172 climbers have died in the Annapurna region in the last seven years. The technology at the rescue center will help to save the lives of lost climbers,” Yoon said.

Likewise, Hong Gill, executive director at Hong Gil Human Foundation, said that the number of climbers will increase with the establishment of the rescue center.

 
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